Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Regular Season Game 13: Tre Kronor, Tre mål

1st Period:

Detroit 1 Colorado 0; 8:54- Lidstrom (6) unassisted

Franzen gets to the puck off a dump in and puts a sharp angle shot on net. Varlamov stops the shot and pushes the rebound into the corner. To his credit, kicking the rebound into the corner is all you can really ask for here. An Avs defender falls and sweeps the puck with his stick. It ends up in the high slot....

where Lidstrom has pinched and is waiting for it. Lids has time to fully unload a slap shot that beats Varlamov and sets the tone for the night. #TPH

Detroit is on the powerplay here, and Colorado's counter is a diamond formation. They've taken away the passing lane back to the blue line, the cross-ice passing lane, and the shot. Filppula's only option is to move the puck into the corner.

Fil moves the puck down low for Zetterberg. This pulls the net front defender away from the goal and into the corner, shifting the diamond formation. Z has 3 options available, which I've labeled according to the probability with which I think he'll pick said option. The most likely choice is to pass behind the next. The next most likely is to move the puck back up along the boards to Filppula. The least likely is to send a cross ice pass through the Colorado defenders into the left faceoff circle. Naturally, Zetterberg chooses to send a cross ice pass through Colorado defenders into the left faceoff circle.

Hudler gets the pass and quickly moves it back over to Filppula. The defense has collapsed on Hudler, leaving Fil all alone and the smart choice to pass to. Filppula has a wide open net if he's able to get a shot off quickly enough. The other item of note in this cap is Johan Franzen moving across the crease.

Filppula has an open net and takes the shot without hesitation. The puck hits Franzen's stick and changes directions, beating Varlamov high glove side for The Mule's first of the night.

The Wings are cycling the puck on the power play, and the Avs are set up in a box formation. Filppula gets the puck along the boards and two of the four Colorado players converge on him. Filppula has to move the puck (and quickly). His passing lane to the closest defenseman has been cut off by the collapsing Av playing high, so to counter Fil throws one to Kronwall on the far side.

There's no one that can pick up Franzen as he cuts to the middle of the ice. The two Avs defenders that collapsed on Filppula are too far to the left to make a play on him, another defender is trying to play Kronwall straight up, and the last defender is basically floating down low with no chance of doing anything not destructive. If he jumps up to meet Franzen he either screens his own goalie or could tip the coming slapshot, but if he stays put he's camped out defending no one.

Franzen gets his blade on the puck and redirects it over the blocker-side shoulder of Varlamov. Again, no one is even close to him.

Detroit 3 Colorado 1; 8:18- PPG Landeskog from Duchene & Qunicey

Colorado is moving the puck on the power play, and Detroit is set up in a box formation (sound familiar?). Duchene gets the puck and passes behind his back to an uncovered Landeskog to the side of the net.

Landeskog shoots it and the puck gets stuck in Howard's pads. Landeskog chops and chops and chops at it. Stuart is off balance and tangled up and can't clear him from the front of the net. Ladeskog chops at it again. Chop, chop, more chop, chop, etc. Whistle? What whistle? Landeskog keeps hacks away until the puck gets loose and trickles across the goal line.

3rd Period:

Detroit 4 Colorado 1; 14:46- Cleary (2) from Datsyuk (8) & Kindl (3)

Cleary brings the puck through the neutral zone, moving left to right and drawing one of the three Colorado defenders along with him to the right side of the Wings offensive zone. Cleary passes to Datsyuk, who carries into the zone.

Datsyuk puts on the brakes and shoots from above the faceoff circle. Cleary gets inside his defender and moves towards the front of the net for rebound opportunities. There's a switch in who is defending Cleary in the above screen cap; it has now switched from the Av Cleary just passed to Quincey.

Cleary has a step on Quincey, and though Quincey steps over to make a play on Cleary's stick he's just a little too slow. Giguere gives up a rebound directly in front of himself and Cleary gets his stick on it to lift it up and over Giguere's shoulder.

Detroit 4 Colorado 2; 16:55- Hejduk from Wilson & Johnson

Colorado is on the powerplay late in the third period. Detroit is set up in the usual box formation to defend. Hejduk finds a lane and cuts inside on Helm at the top of the box. Lidstrom has the netfront player locked down (red box above), which leaves White to cover the passing lane down low and the player with the puck as he moves into the slot.

Hejduk shoots and the rebound pops out behind Lidstrom and the scrum in front of the net. Helm can't ever fully engage Hejduk and leaves him free to backhand the rebound past a sliding Howard.

Detroit 5 Colorado 2; EN Franzen (8) unassisted

There's no way that screen capping this goal can do it justice. I highly recommend clicking the link and watching it. Wings fans everywhere are rejoicing that Mule's playoff streakiness has now extended itself to the regular season. Being a streaky scorer has never been looked upon this favorably.

About Me

Adam is a U of M grad who learned how to hold a hockey stick from watching Fedorov and the Wings on their '97 Cup run. He hasn't looked back since. Or skated, but that's beside the point. His ultimate goal is to provide the most thorough goal-by-goal and statistical analysis of Red Wings hockey on the internet. Follow the blog on Twitter @TOGBlog1